HAVE YOU BEEN TO HALPERIN PARK IN THE CLIFF YET?

THIS PICTURE ABOVE was at one of our Summer Tours where we came out and entertained the community. Now that the new Park in the cliff is open, we will be out there to bond with our community. Have you had a chance to check out Halerpin Park Yet? Here is A peek

The story of Halperin Park (formerly known as the Southern Gateway Park) is not just a tale of urban development—it is a story of healing, justice, and community-driven triumph.

The Park marked the beginning of a new chapter for Southern Dallas, built with a deeply intentional mission: to serve as a “Park with a Purpose.” Here is the story behind why Halperin Park was built. (From Google)

The Wound: A Community Divided
To understand why Halperin Park was built, you have to look back to the 1950s. During the mid-20th-century highway boom, Interstate 35E was carved right through the historic heart of Oak Cliff.
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The construction of the highway did not just create traffic lanes; it tore a physical and social trench through the neighborhood. It intentionally sliced through historic minority areas, including the Tenth Street district—one of Dallas’s oldest freedman’s towns, which had been founded by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War. For over 60 years, this massive concrete chasm separated neighbors, disrupted the local street grid, and isolated Southern Dallas from the economic investments blooming north of the Trinity River.

The Vision: “Capping” the Highway
The idea to right this historical wrong began to take shape in 2016. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced plans to reconstruct I-35E, and local community advocates, residents, and city leaders saw a rare window of opportunity. They asked a bold question: What if, instead of just fixing the highway, we covered it?
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Borrowing from the success of downtown Dallas’s Klyde Warren Park, a public-private partnership formed. Led by the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, they raised nearly $300 million to build a massive structural “deck” over the highway between Ewing and Marsalis avenues, directly adjacent to the Dallas Zoo. The Design: A Park with a Purpose
Halperin Park was explicitly designed to mend the physical and economic divide. It was built to achieve several major goals:
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Reconnecting Oak Cliff: The park literally bridges the gap, allowing neighbors to walk across what was once open air above roaring highway traffic. Its 12th Street Promenade serves as a literal and symbolic “history walk,” featuring interpretive elements that celebrate the cultural icons who shaped the neighborhood.
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Environmental and Social Equity: Oak Cliff is famous for its rolling hills and lush tree canopy, features that the park’s design embraces. It brings 5 acres of green space, nature-based playgrounds, water features, and a mass-timber bandshell to an area that had been neglected for decades.
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Economic Catalyst: Beyond being a beautiful place to relax, the park is designed to lift up the local community. Through its Community First Plan, it aims to drive over $1 billion in economic impact in its first five years by hosting local businesses, market-style dining, and job opportunities, while keeping a close eye on preserving affordable housing for long-term residents.
+1 “We know that the interstates were built back at a time when there were efforts to divide and to separate, and we have this beautiful space where we can reconnect, where we can heal some of those wounds that were created by that division and create space for that healing.” — April Allen, President & CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation
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Ultimately, Halperin Park was built to send a clear, undeniable message to the people of Oak Cliff and Southern Dallas: You matter, your history matters, and your community deserves to be whole.